How to Keep Your Kids From Getting Car Sick

Keep your Kids from Getting Car Sick

Truth be told I avoid the car with my children. Both of them are just like me, we get car sick driving down the road two blocks. During the day it’s not so bad, but at night time, it’s a complete nightmare to go anywhere, and long distances are even worse. I remember as a kid how hard it was to be excited about going anywhere because I knew the feeling I would get as soon as I climbed into the car and it started moving. My daughter had a tremendous fear of riding in the car at night for a very long time, after a really bad car ride lead to her vomiting all over in my husband’s truck (the smell didn’t come out for months).

Motion sickness is not easy to predict, but if your child seems to be susceptible to motion sickness there are ways to help avoid it.

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Help Ease the Motion Sickness

1. Keep the car cold. Heat is your worst nightmare when you have a child who gets motion sickness.

2. Watch the road. This is the main reason why kids get car sick more than adults, because most of the time they are seated in the backseat with an obstructed view of the road. Our bodies are equipped with several motion sensors, these sensors update our brain regarding motion. When the brain gets different information from different sensors we get nauseated. If we are watching the road it is easier to notify our brain of this motion. It may not always be possible for children to watch the road. However, sometimes it helps to have a booster seat to elevate your child to see better or remove the headrest of the front seats.

3. Don’t have a full stomach or an empty stomach. Being too full or too empty can make the stomach more susceptible to nausea, so make sure your child has a light, healthy snack before hitting the road.

4. Take the corners slowly. Your child’s brain will have more time to process the movement if you take the corners extra slow.

5. Don’t let your child read or watch a DVD player. I know this is probably very difficult for any trip because keeping your child entertained is important, but these are big causes of motion sickness. Looking at something that is still while you are moving sends the brain mixed signals and leads to motion sickness.

6. Stop frequently. This gives your child a break from the constant movement and getting fresh air helps alleviate the nausea.

A Doctor May Be Able to Help

If your child is experiencing motion sickness that is very frequent talk to your doctor. Your child may have an inner ear blockage that causes the brains equilibrium to be off balance, this can definitely increase motion sickness and make it pretty miserable for your child. Luckily, this is a common problem that is easily fixed.

My last bit of advice is ALWAYS BE PREPARED. Bring towels, bags and lots of changes of clothes. Road trips should be fun and kids who get sick miss out on that, so try these tips and hopefully your next trip will be much more enjoyable.

Comments 5 comments

Great tips. Both my grandsons get car sick even on short trips. As an adult I do too if I'm looking down reading. I suspected this what was happening to them as well while viewing dvds but had not looked it up. This hub was useful, I will pass along. Thanks.

Mandeeadair 5 years ago from California Author

Thank you for reading!

katiem2 5 years ago from I'm outta here

Oh thank you thank you thank you. My 12 year old still gets car sick. I'm book marking this and rating it up and voting it all that is good! Well Done! :) Katie

kcreery 5 years ago from Whistler Canada

Great Hub. One of my children tends to get car sick. We use baby Gravol to help soothe her stomach before we head out on a road trip.